March – April, 2022 Volume 17 — Issue 94
What are the mind-blowing qualities and characteristics of exceptional employees? Really think about it. Set company standards. When searching for top talent to join your team, it is crucial to watch for exceptional personal skills and characteristics.
Recruiting and hiring top talent is something of a fine art. Understand what mind-bowing employee characteristics are for your firm to recognize them in candidates. Your recruitment process will become stronger as employee retention numbers rise. You will be able to place the right people on the bus, and in the right seats.
There are certain qualities of good employees every recruiter looks for, like being organized, punctual, team players and a positive attitude. But, there are more employee characteristics that a recruiter might not think of. Below are 10 key qualities and characteristics to incorporate into job recruitment notices to attract top talent in candidates.
10 Qualities and Characteristics of Exceptional Employees
Above Average Communicator
There is no more important skill within a business than the ability to communicate. Clear communication is important to every facet of a job, the company and its stakeholders. An employee may need to talk with peers, employees lower down or higher up on the corporate ladder. Each level requires different levels of communication skills. Clients and customers need communicated with, as do suppliers. Without this critical skill, chances of an employee moving up the ladder can be limited.
Strong Team Player
Today’s work arena is more strongly based on teamwork than in the past. Collaborating with other employees is important to sharing project workloads, sharing ideas and getting the job done efficiently. Not everyone gets the chance to be a team leader all the time. But, as a team member, each employee needs to be able to participate and engage with other team members in a positive manner, working as equals on projects. It comes down to each employee being able to ‘play well with others’. Skilled individuals are nice to have, but team players have more value to the success of the company.
Values and Respects Punctuality
Getting to work and punching in and out on a time clock is, in many cases, a thing of the past. It depends on the industry in which a company operates. Tracking time is not just related to the employee showing up on time. Meeting deadlines and logging time is also useful data for preparing proposals, or understanding how many employees a specific department or division may need.
Whether punching a time clock or signing into a digitized app, employees show how serious they are about their job and the company. Deciding on their own that it is fine to sign in late each day, or leave before the end of their workday is never good. It is a strong sign that they don’t know, or care, how valuable they, or their job is to company success. Those who show up on time, ready to work, are serious about what they do, the value of their input and how important co-workers’ time is to them.
Extremely Detail-oriented
The first opportunity employers have to gauge a potential employee’s level of detail orientation comes when they submit their application or resume. Or, it can show up when they send an email asking if your firm is hiring. Making a good impression is a situation where detail can be critical. Details require close scrutiny, usually of very small things. Something like a typo, or misspelling someone’s name can blow a great opportunity. You can’t have employees doing these things on the job.
Work with Honesty, Integrity and Ethics
Honesty and Ethics go hand in hand. Of course, every employer wants employees he/she can trust to be honest in all things as part of their company. Trust is based on honesty within the firm, as Ethics are when relating to shareholders like customers, other employees and suppliers. No one wants to work with or deal with someone they can’t trust in all situations. Lack of trust never stays within the confines of a business. Those on the outside – customers and suppliers – are all too willing to share the bad news outside, with potentially disastrous results.
Highly Optimistic
Optimistic employees have an upbeat view of life in general and business. Optimists have open minds and possess positive views of all situations. Their upbeat mindset opens them to envisioning new, out-of-the box ideas and perspectives for every challenge. Optimists also have an uncanny way of motivating others to shed their gloomy outlook and use more positivity to solving problems.
High Levels of Adaptability
Change is an omnipresent reality in the world of business. Something is always changing, sometimes in a good way, other times less pleasant. Most times change occurs without advance warning. Employees with an ability to adapt and pivot as needs demand, they are valuable members of your company. Generally, they usually can see the bigger picture, adapt and solve problems and challenges that come with change.
Lifelong Learners
Job candidates who come to your firm with a specialized college degree are nice. But, as most employers know, graduation is often only the beginning of learning a profession. To improve abilities and skill levels for promotion, employee development programs are beneficial for both leadership and employees. There are numerous ways to provide additional education for your staff members. Budgeting for attendance at conferences and seminars is a start. Setting up an internal mentoring program is another tactic. Developing a company educational program to bring in generalized programs, or creating courses specifically for your firm are both options. Don’t let promising staff members fall between the cracks when extra training will fill voids left by their education and experiences.
Take Charge and Action
Employee characteristics that make a difference between ‘slow/stop’ and ‘let’s go’ are extremely important. Why? When faced with tough challenges, obstacles, or a team lagging due to low morale or motivation, you don’t want someone feeling there is nothing they can do about it. You want staff members willing to step in and take action to reverse the situation. Without people willing to take charge or take action, nothing would ever get done.
Trend Followers
Every business faces changes based on influences; some they can control, others are outside their arena of Control. Influences internal to the firm can usually be controlled in relatively simple ways. External influences are more difficult to control. Those who stay aware of changes in your particular industry does a lot to keep your company in the ‘cutting edge’ side of your competition. Employees that keep their eyes open and remain aware of threats can do a lot to help keep your firm on track.
Wrap Up: Develop useful, cost effective hiring standards
Whether recruiting employees for vacancies or to new openings due to growth, searching for top level talent should the first item on your ‘Must Do!’ list. Just interviewing to find a warm body for a low level or temporary position can waste valuable time. Interview strategy should focus on the future as well as for present needs.
Focus on High Quality and Characteristics of Exceptional Employees
Employee turnover can be costly in terms of time and money. Focus your interview strategy on finding the best people for the company long term, not just for an immediate opening. With a ‘Top Talent’ mindset, your company will soon fill up with potential for hiring from within with staff learning and development. Help them climb the corporate ladder and they will help your firm be ready for growth and success at all times.
